Safe disposal of needles, syringes, IV sets, vials and other medical products, typically termed "sharps" because of their sharp edges or points, has become increasingly important, largely due to the presence of AIDS. An inadvertent needle stick, while never a desirable thing and often dangerous, now can be life threatening. Although needles, syringes and so forth are usually packaged to be relative safe prior to use, after use the products often exposed sharp edges or pointed tips. Handling and disposal of the sharps create acute problems for health care professionals, housekeepers and central supply personnel.
Because of the problems created by infectious waste, particularly sharps, various types of sharps disposal systems have been developed. A common practice is to use a plastic container having a door which operates much like the door on a conventional mailbox. To use the system, one opens the hinged door with one hand, drops the sharps into the opening and then closes the door; this allows the sharps to drop into a plastic bag within the interior of the container for later disposal. This solution, while addressing many of the safety concerns, requires the use of both hands to dispose of the sharps. This may be difficult or inconvenient to do and can expose the health care worker to infectious material. In addition, such systems require extensive handling of the plastic bag liners, and workers responsible for disposal of the used sharps are subjected to risks of needle sticks when they remove the plastic bags of sharps from the container and handle the bags during transport. Also, further environmental problems are created if one were to incinerate or otherwise dispose of the plastic container along with the sharps and medical waste contained therein.